Wilting From Past Roses
by rwbybomb21
Summary: She left her world by accident, but entered her past with a purpose; to save the world from a war of which she took part in. But she can't do it alone, and with her old teammates, can they save the world before it truly needed saving?
1. Chapter 1

**Based off of the story Remnant's Reclaimer. Hope the author enjoys this!**

**Also, this is a 'Ruby becomes Lightning' fic, so I'm pretty sure this is a one of a kind, and also, while you may complain that this is a crossover fic- I agree- just bear in mind; how many of you read FFXIII and RWBY crossovers? Exactly, if there were more this would be there, but there's not, so it's not. **

**The gunblade she has, by the way, is the Blazefire Saber, her standard gunblade. **

**Logic, there. Point, there. Story, here. Me, shutting up. You, reading.**

(^^^^^^)

Cinder was scared, petrified, worried...everything that defines wanting to die as soon as possible, very, very quickly because you know, after all you've done, the person in front won't let you live and kill you very slowly.

That was Cinder's issue; she knew she'd never survive this encounter in the first place; so why had she gone to the girl, chastising her on how her friends are dead? She never expected the cold, merciless killer in front of her... to slaughter her entire military force like a maid sweeping dirt under a dusted rug. No, she never expected this monster of a woman to fight without sight, and win at it.

It was a startling realisation that she was to die right now. Maybe goading the girl by murdering half of Vale and slaughtering her remaining family like dogs to be put down wasn't such a good idea...

Sweat poured from her brow as she swung her massive scythe again, working in part with the gunblade she had. While the gunblade fired and slashed, the scythe acted as a shield, and while the scythe spun and sliced, the sword acted as suppressing fire and debilitating attacks. Then she used her semblance to add to the already blurry attacks. It was as if her hands were everywhere at once, her speed exceeding what she used to be able to do seven years ago, when she first started as a huntress in training at Beacon.

...Beacon Academy, a school for hunters and huntresses...was burnt to a crisp, nothing left save for the smouldering ruins and still-warm four year old corpses of dead students and teachers alike.

Back to the attacks, Cinder couldn't keep track; Roman was indisposed- by that, I mean he has his head severed cleanly from his shoulders- and Emerald and Mercury were dead- burnt alive by Ruby, no, not Ruby- Ruby was innocent, smart and kind, and this was not Ruby. She felt her flaming aura take blow after blow, Ruby's gunblade slicing through and hitting skin, while her scythe was merely a distraction; even if Cinder knew this, she was not fast enough to stop the attacking.

Out of desperation because she could feel her aura dip dangerously, about to fade, she poured her energy into a fireball; a new technique she had worked on, something that was a lost art by now to both Dust and enhancement users. She could almost see it as she sent the ball flying to Ruby, who simply stood there. She could see the horror as it hit her body and dissolved her skin, she could hear the screams of her being burnt alive, she could feel the pain the girl was in, and revelled in it.

So Cinder's eyes widened as Ruby lifted her gunblade in a stance that she didn't recognise, and watched in horror as Ruby swiped the oncoming fireball, deflecting it back at her with the speed of a thousand Ruby Roses. The area was dark around her as she slipped into a pain induced coma, and her heart wrapped itself around her lungs, her dying almost instantly...

...but not before she activated her aura to send a flaming heat burst through the air.

Ruby's eyes didn't even widen in surprise- how could they when she wore a blindfold? - As she sprinted in the other direction away from the heat, using her semblance to its maximum potential.

But something wasn't right. It must have been the intense aura bursting around her coupled with the heat from the aura-induced shockwave, but something felt off. She felt the heat lick at her heels, and she sped up more...

...Only to come into contact with a wooden boarded floor.

(^^^^^^)

Weiss was reading, Blake sitting at the desk, and Ruby and Yang committing to some form of playful banter, before a cloud of red filled the room. Petals flittered around, determined to fit into every single nook and cranny, every crevice and hole, covering the floor in an unholy red sea that soon evaporated as soon as contact with the floor was made.

Weiss was about to turn and shout at Ruby...before she heard a soft 'Gah!' sound. Clearly Ruby didn't do this. Yes, she was surprised by her own semblance sometimes, but she felt she had perfect control over it.

Once the cloud disappeared, Blake spotted someone who wasn't supposed to be there, and immediately notified her teammates, who all took defensive measures.

The figure was in a crouched position, with long, spiky red and black hair stretching down to her ankles. A torn, blood splattered and burnt scarf was around her neck, and her shoulders had over them a red cloak, burnt with small fibres flailing around, and holes and scratches everywhere.

She looked about the size of Weiss when crouched, but when she stood up, all of their eyes widened; she was at least a good foot taller than Yang, perhaps even professor Goodwitch's height.

Yang was about to charge the person, but then she turned around, showing them her blindfolded, cut and scarred face.

But the thing that stopped her in her tracks was the small, audible whisper in the room, coming from one fifteen year old, scythe wielding Ruby Rose; her scythe was on the floor, and her knees were crumpled, as she sat in a kneeling position. "M-Mama?"

Ruby's eyes widened, before she turned to look in the direction of the noise. She couldn't see any of them there, but the familiar scents were filling her nostrils with nostalgia.

She took a tentative step forwards, and heard the icy tone of her long-dead partner. "Who are you and what do you want?"

Ruby turned her head in her direction now, and Yang gasped when she saw the blindfold around Ruby's face and the scarf around her neck; it was her scarf...but that's impossible. She looked down and looked at her own scarf, before looking up at the exact replica; this was hand-made by Ruby herself when she was eight- She was good at sewing- so she knew that this was not a fake, but the real deal...an exact real deal that she was wearing, as well as this stranger.

Her head hurt all of a sudden.

"M-M-"

Ruby cut the fifteen year old self off with a harsh pointed look and soft words. "I am not your mother." Blake thought she heard something along the lines of 'great, I'm dreaming again' slip from the woman's mouth.

Ruby's eyes widened, as did everyone else's. She sounded like Ruby as well as looked like her, and there was a scythe as well as some sort of strange sword on her back. They all turned to Ruby, who was feebly holding her scythe, and then back to the stranger, who looked impassive as ever.

Before her head turned as if a puppy would, and she slowly removed the blindfold, squinting at the unseen rays of light. She hadn't seen light for at least two years, wearing the scarf soon after what...happened to Yang.

Weiss' hands flew to her mouth, her sword falling to the floor. Yang fainted, and Ruby simply stared. Blake had an amazing poker face, but Ruby had seen lots in her years, and knew how to read even the hardest people; Blake was terrified. Well, she guessed she was; her heartbeat suddenly spiked when she lifted the blindfold, so...

Then she looked down to her hands, before looking at the miniature version of herself. "I must be dreaming."

The young Ruby squealed like a child. "Oh my god you're me!"

Ruby just glared a bone-chilling glare, and Ruby shut up to allow her to speak. "I swear, I must be dreaming."

Weiss spoke tentatively, as if scared of the answer." So...you're Ruby."

"Yes."

"And...How did you get here from...?" she couldn't finish her sentence, and Blake seemed frozen to the floor.

Ruby turned to look at the heiress with the always-present glare on her face, her hazed, blind silver eyes boring into shaking sapphire. "I ran from the year 557 AG."

Weiss' cogs in her brain were turning, and she pieced it together. "You...ran..."

"Yes."

"From seven years in the future?"

"Yes."

And Weiss' face went red and little Ruby turned scared. "And how the HELL do you mess up so badly that you literally ran to the past!?"

Ruby glared, and the room's temperature felt at minus one billion right now. "I saved the world, someone sent a walking nuke my way, I killed her, and then I ran." Ruby's voice was what shocked everyone, not her words; it was cold, uncaring, calloused and raspy, through years of breathing in smoke and dust from bullet-fire; and literal fire.

Little Ruby fainted and Weiss passed out from shock, and Blake went and put her next to Yang on Yang's bed. After that, she turned to Ruby, who was still stood there.

"Now that it's just the two of us..." Blake stepped closer to Ruby, and placed her hand on her cheek. "...What happened to you? You're cold, you're scarred, and you're not the Ruby that I know."

Ruby turned her face and leant into Blake's palm. She had not forgotten that Blake had confessed to her all those years ago, and that they married four years later. But in this universe, or her own universe just seven years past, that did not happen.

Her inadvertent time travelling was a chance to make things right.

But she couldn't tell her, so she pulled back. "Blake...there are some things you won't believe...and some I fear you won't want to hear."

She knew Blake would push for an answer, she always did; their wedding night, Ruby was too scared to give her answer at the altar, and had to be coaxed by Blake to say 'I do'. When Ruby wanted a cookie, but couldn't decide which one she liked better, Blake simply bought her both. Blake was as predictable as she didn't think she was; her eyes held a look and her hands clenched- voluntarily or involuntarily, she could never figure out.

So when that gleam came into Blake's eyes, Ruby's own locked with them-somehow, Blake saw that Ruby, as blind as she is, still knew where her eyes were. Ruby's portrayed hurt, anger and pain, and Blake's contained innocence that she almost-but-hadn't lost yet.

"Blake, please trust me when I say that you can't handle it."

Blake looked at her angrily. "Yes I can! I'm not a child anymore!"

"Please...Blake it would hurt you, the things you hear."

"I. Can. Take it." she forced out through gritted teeth, and Ruby sighed.

"Fine, we'll talk later, when they're all in bed." Ruby clasped a hand over her shoulder, and Blake's skin lit up like it was struck by lightning- she didn't know of the poetic justice she had performed right then and there.

"A-All right then."

They waited a few more minutes, and the rest of them got up and sat around a table, all staring at Ruby- the older one.

Yang opened and closed her mouth plenty of times, before Weiss spoke for her. "So, Ruby..."

Both Rubys turned their heads to meet Weiss.

"...The older Ruby."

"If you must know..." Ruby pointed out, her face kept in that immovable scowl. "My name is Lightning Belladonna."

Blake titled her head. "Belladonna...?"

"Like I said, we'll talk later." She turned her head to Weiss, asking with a bland expression. "Ask away, what do you want to know?"

"Firstly, I love the outfit." Anything with bolero jackets, Weiss would love; Lightning could still remember when she gushed over a plushie that had a small bolero jacket on it.

Oh wait, that hadn't happened yet.

What Weiss was referring to was Lightning's clothing. She wore a black, sleeveless turtleneck with a pink and red, unbuttoned shirt over it. Over that, she wore a sleeveless white and pink bolero jacket, her thin, muscular arms showing off. On her left arm she wore a shoulder guard with her rose emblem engraved into it. Just below that, she wore a black, thin leather arm wrap that ran down to her forearm, and on her left hand was a fingerless, leather glove. In the palm of the glove was Blake's emblem, which greatly confused her, and on the back of the hand, was an emblem similar to Blake's, only red, with small petals dancing around the edges. On her legs she wore small, knee-high red socks, with leather shin boots and a small pair of shorts. Her cloak was draped on the back, not over her shoulders this time, and the hood was attached to the jacket.

Lightning tilted her head, some bangs falling over her eyes. "Thanks...?"

"You're welcome Ru-uh...Lightning..." she watched slightly amused as Weiss turned her head downwards, whispering to herself. "I'll never get that right..."

Ruby threw in her two Lien, her voice high pitched, causing Lightning to cringe; did she really sound that annoying? She gave Weiss a small sympathetic face as she turned to hear the question.

"So, you know that you're me? Well, I was wondering..."

Lightning finished the story-like question for her. "...you want to know how I got blind."

Ruby just nodded, and Yang and Weiss were eyeing Lightning strangely.

Blake was eyeing the small, golden ring on Ruby's left hand.

But she paid rapt attention to the story of war, tragedy and a crazy woman by the name of Cinder Fall.

(^^^^^^)

**Not my greatest work, I know.**

**Next chapter {SPOILERS!} will have flashbacks, an aggravated Lightning, and a very curious Weiss.**

**And maybe someone else joins the fray...**


	2. Chapter 2

Cradling the knife between her fingers, palm strongly wrapping around the hilt as the blade was placed flat against her neck, she sighed; another day of failure. Every day for the past couple of years since her vision was taken- rather agonisingly, I might add- away from her and the change of name was a sufficient way to stay alive, she would place her trusty, slightly blood-rusted dagger to her throat, and see if she had the courage, the conviction, to drag the blade slowly across her neck.

She did this every day for a different reason; to remind herself that she was, indeed, alive. The greatest huntress the world of Remnant has ever seen was not scared of this being some sort of sick game, no, or being a dreamland.

She was scared she would have to return to reality.

In the past, Lightning had her friends to keep her happy. When they died, one by one, slaughtered like lambs in a field of Grimm, she turned to her wife; always caring, always trusting, always there for her, Blake was the epitome of a loyal, trustworthy, loving spouse. Someone that Ruby had intended to live with for the rest of her life. Then Blake, everything, was gone, but she still did this; if only to tell her this sick dream was not a dream, and in fact an even sicker reality.

So she threw the dagger with expert precision- for a blind woman-, the blade lodging itself within the eyeball of a standing beowolf on one of Ruby's old 'Be a Wolf, or a Beowolf' posters. Even if she couldn't see them anymore, Lightning's eyes flashed radiant colours of red, black, flaring crimson eyes and a small girl with a cloak before her. It was her entire reason she decided to keep her mother's cloak wrapped around her shoulders- that, and it held sentimental value.

She sighed again, a wisp of grey fog flowing out of her mouth as she did so. She could tell it wasn't sunny, due to the lack of heat landing on her skin, and she could tell it wasn't raining due to the lack of that certain chill in the air and the crisp smell of morning dew and it wasn't snowy, the telltale sign of still crisp grass beneath her feet told her that; So that left one thing; frosty. Not quite rainy, not quite sunny, and not quite snowy, but all three. It had the chill of rain, the texture of snow and the feel of the sun; all in one, desolate season.

Winter.

Her body spun on its own accord when she felt the small, soft vibrations the earth showed her; she had learnt a trick from an old, blind woman that you didn't always needed to see with your eyes, but with touch. The soft vibrations, as miniscule as an ant's, shot towards her, and she saw the emitting force of the wave of sight she could now see; it was large, six foot nine, she had to guess, with razor sharp claws dragging out behind it, scraping the ground. Its hind legs were bent backwards, as if that were the normal way for the creature to be stood. Anything on the ground was easy prey for her; anything even grazing the ground by a hair could be seen until it either flew into the air- a domain her ears ruled over to allow 'sight'- or died.

Her blind eyes narrowed beneath the blindfold; beowolf.

She noted the dagger sticking into the tree, the old poster limply blowing in the breeze. The living beowolf seemed to sense that the woman was blind, for it lowered itself on all four legs, haunches set to pounce, claws dug in to the floor slightly, and eyes beaming at her with animalistic hatred.

She saw all of it, and faced the crouching creature, looking it right in the eye.

Lightning nodded, ever-so-slightly, praising the creature for even managing to sneak up on her; that was a new thing.

It took that as a sign of acceptance to death. The blind human would, at least, get a swift one, it thought. Yes, it was a Grimm, but the sole appetite for humans had meant that even they, as soulless as they were, knew when they saw something worthy, battle-weathered, ageing and old.

But the Grimm let out a tentative sniff, then another; an action Lightning was not liking. She frowned, the beowolf standing now, rearing its head back as if to howl, to attract more Grimm.

But it simply slumped on its hind legs, tilted its head at Lightning, and growled, before doing something she had never seen in a Grimm.

It left her be.

Shrugging, she packed up her equipment- the dagger, a bowl, and the poster- and left the scene.

The beowolf, red eyes glinting, stared at her form inquisitively, as if asking itself the widely asked question; _"What is she? So dark yet...still fighting for good; similar...perhaps..."_

As if mimicking Lightning's leave, the beowolf shrugged, tilting its head, and stood on its hind legs before prowling off into the thick, dense, frostbitten forest.

(^^^^^^)

Weiss, to say the least, was livid. Her face was contorted into that puffed-up-chipmunk-look that she had when she was furious, her eyes wide slightly; her eyebrows were almost comically raised to her hairline, and her blue eyes- that could be soft some days- shone maliciously, intent to strangle the subject of her ire flashing brightly, sparking widely through her whole body.

Then her dorm room opened, and Lightning walked in- Ruby sighed in relief before running off, telling Yang how her older self had saved her. But Weiss did not have the energy to chase after her leader; she did not have the heart to, either. Something about Lightning being there made something stir within her: Realisation that she wasn't- as she thought- the best on the team anymore? Well, Lightning wasn't technically on the team anymore, but still...

Was it respect, that she had a fully grown huntress- one that had seen numerous battles and horrors, if her story was anything to go by- living with her? Perhaps, but respect did not cause her to stop her sudden furious rant to Ruby; what had the little dunce done this time? Only spill chocolate sauce all over Weiss' bed by 'accident'.

No, it was not respect, nor was it realisation, it was...admiration. It was the feeling of trying to impress the woman in front of her, try to get her to see that she could be mature, strong, brave...and maybe love her. It reminded her of how she vied for her father's attention, him always working putting a massive strain on their father-daughter relationship. It was the same with Lightning, only...she wanted to impress her just that little bit more.

Weiss winced in her head as she thought that. She had no idea where that came from, but the day had been so strange already; she needed to sleep soon...

Lightning turned her head in the direction Weiss was, and looked at her with that ever-present glare on her face. "Everyone get some sleep..." Blake simply shrugged and rolled over in her bed- she was already in it reading- and Ruby and Yang groaned, but did as they were told. Weiss was still gawking, and if possible, Lightning's glare got worse. "Well? Get to bed, twerp."

Weiss 'eeped' but shot over to her bed, burying herself beneath the covers...

...until the rather wise yet sleepy voice of Blake sounded out through the now dark room. "Lightning? Where will you be sleeping?"

Lightning shrugged, only visible to the Faunus, and leaned against a wall, far away from the rest of them. "I'll keep watch- oh...right...no war..." she muttered softly, before raising her voice again. "I'll sleep here." Lightning could practically feel the four sets of eyes boring into her, and she turned her head to each one of them. "I said sleep twerps. You're all going to need a lot of energy for tomorrow."

One by one they all complied, except for Blake; she had a habit of being stubborn. "Can we talk now?" her voice was soft, fragile and slathered with care, but Lightning simply shrugged, walking out of the room and up the stairs to the roof.

Blake made it up a minute later, slightly panting, cheeks flushed as the cold air of the night battered her cheeks into a rosy red, dusted scarlet as Lightning's gaze lingered on her for but a second, before she turned her blind staring to the forest.

She heard a distant howl, noting how there was only one this night, and knew, for a fact, that the strange female beowolf she had seen earlier was a lone one; A lone wolf, just like her.

Blake leaning against the metal railing told her that she was, in fact, ready and able to pay attention to the rather shocking news she would receive.

So lightning turned her head, looked into Blake's strong, amber slanted eyes with her hazed silver ones, and simply said two words that lef Blake reeling in confusion afterwards.

"We're married."

Of course, Blake understood the message in the two-worded method, but trying to decipher the true meaning behind the unusually sombre tone in Lightning's otherwise cruel and cold voice was simply too much for her sleepy head to take in. She turned her head, whipping it so fast she thought she felt something crack, but ignored it; this was something that had to be addressed.

"What!?" it was a harsh, accusatory whisper, one she meant not to come out, but the damage was done too late, and what she saw destroyed her; Lightning looked between hurt, guilty and sad, the conflicting yet similar emotions dancing around behind her blind, dead eyes before she simply placed on an unreadable expression.

"You heard. We were married..." she tilted her head up to the sky, staring at a particular set of stars. "I know everything there is about you; we spent a lot of time together." Lightning was in her own little world that she didn't even notice Yang walk over in soft steps, and she shushed Blake, pointing to the reminiscing Lightning, telling her to ask something, anything, that might give the- in-the-dark females some sort of clue.

Blake looked hesitant, but asked anyway. "So...when did we...get...married?" it was a struggle to force the words out, but they fell through her dried lips, and sounded as if she were simply thinking over her words instead of embarrassedly staring at the ground, a blush on her cheeks as she asked the question.

Lightning's blind eyes twinkled with something akin to happiness, but that was short lived, tie twinkle disappearing. "Three years from now." Suddenly, Lightning's gaze held a specific spot of the darkened forest, red eyes staring back at her with equal sadness and reflective triumph; she was proud and triumphant that she was married, she was happy...yet in this past she did not belong in, on a world different seven years past from what she was used to, she was lonely.

"**She smiled, long, black flowing dress picking up wind. 'I do' she said, smiling radiantly. I hesitated, but smiled, 'I do'...she threw the flowers in the air. Bullet shots rang through. Panic, scared, I sought out her. She smiled anyway, teeth showing. 'I love you', through her soft, red lips. Again, I smiled, nodding to her 'I love you too'" **

Blake and Yang looked at each other, and Lightning turned to see them, not at all surprised to find Yang here, eavesdropping. "Sorry...I found out a year after graduation that I had perfect memory, and it became something akin to photographic memory." No cheeky smile, no remark afterwards, nothing; and it scared Blake to see what the future Ruby turned into, fun and games lost with her innocence to a war. "Except... it's a bit different."

Yang tilted her head, rubbing the present sleep out of her eyes, yawning midway through sentence. "How's it different?"

Lightning simply sighed, rubbing a hand through her scalp, doing what...what her wife used to do to calm her down. "I...It's complicated, but I can relive every single memory I've ever had. Good or bad...the feelings, sights, smells, all become real, and if you're not careful..."

Blake nodded sadly. "You lose yourself to the memory, and when it goes, you don't determine dream from reality, or you find it really hard to."

Lightning simply stared, the slight tilt of her head suggesting Blake had gotten it right. "Yes, but I have more bad that good, so it can...be quite terrifying."

"You...wanna talk about them?" Yang whispered, her voice inquisitive and her tone light.

"About what?"

"...The...the bad memories... Talking usually makes it better..."

Lightning shook her head as a sign of 'no' and they dropped it; they'd never understand anyway. Blake in her current state may understand the horror of having to kill, but never to the calibre that Lightning had to.

The feel of those red eyes in the forest peering back at her called to her, a silent, distant, lonely howl beckoning her to come.

She looked back at the other two, and dismissed them to bed, saying a short goodnight to Blake and Yang before disappearing in a wave of petals.

(^^^^^^)

She shouldn't have been shocked by the person she found out there, sitting with a beowolf, both looking peaceful and harmonious, both looking as if they had been friends for a long time.

But she saw the blindfold, and knew, just knew, that she had travelled her before her.

Her eyes widened, her breath hitching, catching the notice of what was a catatonic Lightning, and a peaceful beowolf, now rising and growling as if a threat.

"R...Ruby?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the long wait, I had to prioritise college work and this.**

**Well, this was...short...umm...enjoy?**

**Oh, right, I have an announcement...**

**New Story: I'll be creating a new story that's a crossover between Bioshock 2 and RWBY, and quite obviously there will be femme slash (Ruby and Eleanor), dark, cold Ruby, and character death- that last one is because it's Bioshock, and...Well...that's the reason. **

**story that will no longer exist #stupidlylongtitlethatneedsshortening: I will be taking a story off of the site until the new one is done, because I might be talented, but I ain't no genius; juggling stories isn't my thing. Im surprised I lasted this long. I will be taking Roses Are Forever down in three days, so just a heads up to those- very few- readers of my story. **

**Now read, my...readers...read!**

**#awesome**

(^^^^^^)

Caring was particularly hard for Lightning, having most of her family, friends and loved ones taken from her; everything she cared for, everything she loved, liked, even showed an interest to, was taken away, cold fingers lacing around the object of her likening and squeezing it until life ebbed away. These were the cold, cruel hands of fate, of her life, and everything she every loved, cared for, was crushed within its fingers, the palm destroying anything that remained.

But the voice of a long gone loved one- she hadn't died, simply vanished- echoed throughout the area, laced with enthusiasm, fear, excitement and slight fright mixed with surprise. It ricocheted around her skull, bouncing and pinging off of every surface with a memory of that person in it, causing her to widen her eyes behind the scarf wrapped around her eyes.

She turned, staring at the beowolf that had become a friend- no, friend was the wrong word, more of they had come to find that they were both similar, and enjoyed the presence of a familiar individual. The beowolf simply whined, tilting its head sideways, confused as to why its acquaintance was so edgy.

Lightning turned her head to the person that made the voice, and willed with a small voice, barely audible- but if it was the person she thought it was, then they would hear it. "C-Could you speak again?"

So the person did, soft, whispered, but it sounded like a train's horn going off right next to her ears, it was that clear. "H-How are you...Am I dead?"

Lightning stood up, smirking as she walked slowly over, the beowolf watching intently to see what her partner would do.

She walked over to the female figure, lifted her arms, and hugged her.

"I missed you...I thought you died in that...T-The world was gone, Light. I followed your aura trail...you left one hell of a carbon footprint." The woman snuggled closer to Lightning's shoulder, slinking her arms around her waist as she stood, softly purring while Lightning replied.

"You vanished, Blake, vanished." It was soft- she would feel sad or even shed a tear if she could.

Blake snuggled closer, whispering into Lightning's ear as she stood on her tiptoes to reach the giant woman's earlobe.

"I know. But I'm here now."

(^^^^^^)

She was bored, tired, hungry and worried; well, the last one she wasn't because her older self was practically a god, but still. Ruby feared for lightning's safety, were she to be discovered.

She also feared the stone cold woman she'd become if Lightning didn't change her future. It was a panicky moment, but she decided that, if that were to be what happens, she tell the headmaster about her older self arriving in the past- or present to her- and how she'd changed. For proof, she brought along Lightning's strange sword. While getting Blake to steal it was a chore, it was still done, and she was left victorious and with proof that her older self was, indeed, real, and she was not insane.

"I...well, this is..." he stayed silent, examining the weapon in front of him with curious eyes. For once, Glynda Goodwitch, who remained to the side listening to the whole debacle, was watching as professor Ozpin, the professor Ozpin, was rendered speechless.

She decided to fill in for the man- clearly his age, coupled with duties as headmaster, had affected him. She cleared her throat gaining Ruby's attention. "Miss Rose, while you may have sufficient proof, we have yet to see this...'future self' of yours." She sighed when she said those words, her brain cells were practically jumping off bridges when she said that. Team RWBY had a habit of doing that to her- she'd speak to one of them, and leave stupider than when she didn't: See? She was even using words like stupider! This can't be happening...

While Glynda had a midlife crisis, Ruby and Ozpin both looked towards the door when knocks came, in sequence as knock-knock-knock-knock-knock...knock-knock! On the seventh knock, the door flew from its hinges, landing flat against the floor just an inch away from Ozpin's foot- somehow it had slid underneath the desk.

Ozpin didn't even blink; this had to be Yang Xiao Long, here to take her crazed sister away for...that wasn't Yang...

"RUBY ROSE, YOU'RE A DEAD GIRL!" a deep, finalistic shout echoed throughout the room, shocking the headmaster out of his calm demeanour, him looking up at the form with something akin to fear- well, the amount of fear Ozpin had for the Grimm, which was sip your coffee until you ran out, then get some more and do the same.

Ruby jumped, before disappearing in a flash of petals and slinking behind Glynda, who was too stupefied to actually do anything.

Then Ozpin cleared his throat, which got her attention, and he pointed to the weapon then to the intruder, clearly indicating that this was what had gotten her so riled up. Neither was worried about the expenses of fixing a door- they had this happen to them on a daily basis, so the cost was next to nothing.

Glynda simply sighed as she saw the figure shaking with unbridled rage, preparing to murder the girl that had stolen her weapon; but this couldn't have been future Ruby? she mentally slapped herself while she grabbed the weapon and walked over to her.

"I assume this...weapon...is yours?" Glynda didn't know what to call it, but went with her gut; she had found no signs of a button to transform it from the rifle-like stage it was in, but even then the 'weapon' didn't seem to respond to her at all, even copious amounts of aura could do nothing.

The figure snatched the weapon form Glynda's hand, almost needy, before stopping her soft caressing of its...barrel?

The woman looked like an exact replica of Summer Rose, which didn't sadden her as much as Glynda thought it would.

Ozpin's breath hitched as he finally saw her; Summer was dead, and Ruby at fifteen already had a large resemblance to her...so could this truly be...?

"Ahem, I assume you are Miss...Rose's...future?"

Lightning barked, before looking in his general direction. "Oh yes, because I'm a fucking Christmas ghost. WWWWWHHHHHOOOOOOHHHHHH!" she then rolled her silver glazed eyes,, before looking at Glynda's face- she really hoped the large object in front of her was her face. Glynda was known for her...large assets.

"Pick your jaw up, Glynda." As Lightning said this she strapped her weapon to her back, before glaring in Ruby's direction. "Now squirt, you better give me one good reason not to paste you all over these walls."

Ruby shrunk under the gaze of her older self, whispering a meagre sorry.

"...Sorry...!? Do you know how expensive my baby is!? Two hundred thousand Lien made up just her firing pin, let alone the bullets required for it to function. All in all you're looking at several hundred _million_ Lien that you just stole!" Lightning was fuming, Ruby was shrinking under her gaze, and Ozpin and Glynda were watching as Ruby's older self chewed out her younger one.

Lightning was about to smear her younger self across the floor, paint her weapon with her brain matter, before a soft voice, one that she had grown accustomed to, echoed throughout the room, drawing attention to itself.

Ruby's eyes widened, Ozpin nearly choked on his coffee, and Glynda practically dropped her chin into the floor, embedding itself into the wooden floorboards.

"...Blake!?"

"Yes Ruby, this is Blake...my wife."

Ruby, for the second time in two days, fainted.


End file.
